Ellevate Network: Conversations With Women Changing the Face of Business

After losing her leg during the terrorist attacks at the Boston Marathon, Adrianne Haslet decided to dedicate her life to being an advocate for amputee’s and amputee rights. On this week’s episode, Adrianne talks about some of the most challenging situations amputees have to go through, lack of insurance coverage, and why there is a need for change regarding prosthetic coverage. She also talks about steps anyone could take to support the amputee community, educate the ones around us, and to make workplaces more accessible. Tune in to hear the inside scoop on Adrianne’s journey from a ballroom dancer to a changemaker for the amputee community.

As we keep focusing on closing the gender achievement gap, Ericka Spradley, Career Coach/Chief PowHer Officer of Confidence Career Women joins us this week to share her insights about closing the confidence gap as well. Ericka talks about the importance positioning yourself well in job the application process, balancing multiple jobs and responsibilities, and the importance of prioritizing. From shaving her head unannounced to publishing three books, Ericka explains the impact of leaving your comfort zone and truly owning your career for continued success.

Starting her path in non-profits a young age, Tara Abrahams, the Executive Director of Glamour’s The Girl Project, realized that she wanted to be a part of a mission-driven organization early on in her career. This week, Tara joined us to talk about the difference between non-profit and for-profit companies, the important role volunteering plays in making an impact, as well as The Girl Project’s work in providing girls all around the world with quality education. Tara also gives insights about importance of corporate social responsibility, challenges around non-profit sector, and when could be the right time to transition from corporate to non-profit sector. ᐧ

After trying out variety of different jobs and markets, Adda Birnir, CEO & Founder of Skillcrush, taught herself how to code and design and decided to get into the tech world. What started out as her side project to find a better way to teach women technological skills turned into Skillcrush, her rapidly-growing company. This week, we talked to Adda about how she got started, finding long term opportunities, job stability within the entrepreneurship world and corporate world, as well as the importance of staying customer-focused. Adda also talks about her inspirations and what helped her stay on her feet when starting out as an entrepreneur along with how she took being laid off as a massive opportunity.

A third generation Girl Scout, Meridith Maskara, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York is not just passionate about girl scouts, but about supporting the generation of young girls and women who will be the change agents of tomorrow. This week, we talked about inclusivity and diversity within Girl Scouts, their active involvement in legislative decisions, the new programs Girl Scouts is offering including fields of STEM, advocacy, and entrepreneurship and how Girl Scouts are adapting to the fast-paced technological world of today. Meridith also discusses the role Girl Scouts’ program Troop 6,000 plays on girls and women in shelter, how to include men in conversations around equality, as well as teaching girls confidence at a young age.

Growing up in a politically engaged household and having a passion for civic engagement from an early age, Maria Yuan, Founder of IssueVoter, defines herself as someone who is “interested in fixing really big problems”. This week, we sat down with her to talk about how she was able to balance her work life in Finance and Investment Banking setting up IssueVoter, coming up with great ideas and being able to grow them, as well as how her background and her experience in being a Campaign Manager helped her when founding IssueVoter. Maria talks about civic engagement and its importance, how everyone can be civically engaged in different ways, as well as how her rapidly growing non-profit, IssueVoter works.

After moving to new York, Deena Baikowitz, Chief Networking Officer of Fireball Network, realized how important it was to have a network of other people to support, help, and give feedback. Working in numerous fields from Broadway to healthcare, Deena emphasizes the importance of having personal relationships no matter which field or stage of career one is at. On this week’s episode, we talked about her consulting and coaching agency, Fireball Network, using Ellevate as a member, the importance of creating a voice for yourself, and how both extroverts and introverts can succeed in forming and leveraging their networks.

After realizing that she did not feel complete at a job she loved, Sarah Clark, CEO of Mitchell Communication Group, left her job at Walmart to adopt her son and spend time doing what she really wanted to do - becoming a mom. Returning to work at Mitchell, Sarah talks about the importance of selecting the right people, nurturing leadership and growth, as well as how a company’s culture can make or break the work itself on this week's episode. She discusses the notion of being a caring leader, the important relationship she has with her employees, and shares her tips for the new and emerging leaders and managers; tune in to listen more about succeeding and failing as a team.

After leading the Product Development team at J.P. Morgan, Amber Baldet, the Co-founder and CEO of Clovyr decided to take a dive into the world of startups. A self-taught coder, Amber is now successfully redefining the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency as well as showcasing what women in tech can achieve if they have the right tools. On this episode, Amber talks about importance of having a good partner when leading a startup, importance of shared responsibility in families, as well as what could be done to involve more girls and women in the field of tech. Tune in to hear more about this up-and-coming technology, future of blockchain, data privacy, and Amber’s spin on the world of tech.

As the CEO of XO Group, Mike Steib’s road to becoming a successful leader has not only been a result of hard work and dedication; but also of networking and influential women he has worked with in his life. On this episode, Mike talks about the diversity at XO Group and how it impacts growth and leads to more success, women as Board of Directors members, and the impact his wife had on him as both a life and business partner. With his new book on driving the most impact in careers, managing energy, and managing stress tune in to listen to Mike’s personal and professional experiences.